Edge of Alienation
by Jun-I
Summary: Sequel to One Life, One Love. Companion fic to Retribution. Ch 3: Kanbei meets a stranger who reminds him of his late fiancee, until...
1. Shichiroji's Secret

**Notes:**

This chapter is set about 3 and a half years after One Life, One Love and about one year before the _Fallen Hero_ chapter in _Wolf Warriors_. Shichiroji is 20. Kanbei is now 30.

--

Kanbei's current aide was a Captain Machida. The man had expressed a wish to return to a commanding position at some point. It would not be fair to keep the samurai chained to him forever when Captain Machida Mahiro had his own career aspirations. Thus, Kanbei began to consider candidates for a new aide. If Chihiro had lived and they had wedded, she would most likely have been transferred to his command and eventually become his aide. But that did not come to pass. Many high-ranking military men employed their wives as trusted aides, since their wives usually came from other high-ranking warrior families and had experience as soldiers reporting to their fathers or brothers. Kanbei's mother had rather conveniently served as his father's aide. But Kanbei had no wife. Shichiroji was the next best thing however. In fact, it was custom to refer to one's orderly as 'old wife'.

"Perhaps Shichiroji can eventually become an aide," Captain Machida suggested. In fact, the young sergeant had been gradually taking on work more appropriate for a higher-ranking aide than for an orderly. Kanbei had considered the idea too. The young soldier's fighting skills had improved tremendously over the past four years, but as long as the orderly remained under-educated in the matters of letters and numbers, he would not be fully ready for an aide's responsibilities. And it would be harder for Kanbei to justify the promotions that would put the young man in position to serve as an aide.

Thus, one evening, as they were wrapping up their duties in Kanbei's office, Lieutenant Colonel Shimada spoke to Shichiroji about sending him to the Aokuma Clan's military school during the months they were rotated back from the front. Typically, low-ranking samurai could not aspire to enter the school unless they had a letter of recommendation from a high-ranking superior. Kanbei made it clear he was more than ready to provide that for Shichiroji.

The blond seemed oddly reluctant. The Lieutenant Colonel was surprised. The hardworking young soldier had always been eager to learn. Why would he refuse this chance to better himself?

After repeated questioning by Kanbei, Shichiroji finally confessed. "I would stick out like a sore thumb." There were many issues at play. Shichiroji was not born within the clan. He came from a faraway place – somewhere east – and entered the service of the clan quite unexpectedly. Four and a half years ago, the young wanderer had rescued two of the clan's children from yakuza bullies while the children were on a trip to town. The samurai children brought Shichiroji back to the clan with them, and the helpful stranger was rewarded by being accepted into Kanbei's clan. Everyone was polite enough not to ask after the young hero's class origins.

The newcomer was assigned to the Shimada household, where he was treated well. Yet Shichiroji had always known his place and been acutely aware of his status as an outsider. His coloration too, set him apart. In the western states, brown-skinned people with dark hair and eyes were more common. It was true that people had moved between the various realms for many millennia, and there were people of all colors in every state, but still, the pale-haired, pale-faced young man was not exactly in the majority as far as his physical appearance was concerned.

Kanbei had attended the clan's military college. He knew the arrogance of the high-ranking samurai first hand, though he was not on the receiving end since he was one of them. But the young commander understood the awkwardness his orderly would feel among the offspring of the clan elite. Thus, Lieutenant Colonel Shimada suggested an alternative for Shichiroji's continued education – a civilian university. "The University of Sai'an has a good Military Studies program," Kanbei said to his orderly, "It covers everything from the science of fortification to military history."

"Sai'an?" Shicihroji's interest was piqued. They had been to Sai'an for Rest and Recreation a few times. It was a neutral city-state whose government had avoided taking sides in the Great War. Samurai from both sides of the conflict came to Sai'an for RnR. The city instituted the rule that all samurai entering Sai'an had to wear civilian attire although they were allowed to carry swords. The blond liked Sai'an City. It was a place where he could just be a man and not be a soldier.

Kanbei observed Shichiroji's response to this new suggestion. The young man's initial smile was almost immediately clouded over by an expression of anxiety. "Is anything wrong?" Shimada asked curiously, "I thought this suggestion would be amenable to you."

That was when the orderly suddenly threw himself at Kanbei's feet without warning. "Forgive me, my master!" the 20-year-old cried out as he prostrated himself. "I do not deserve your kind regard!"

Kanbei raised his eyebrows as he stared down at the prostrate form of the low-ranking samurai. Modesty and humility were virtues, but was such drama necessary?

"Shichiroji, what's the matter with you?" the commander asked crisply.

"I have a confession to make!" the blond said without raising his head to look at Kanbei. "I was not born a samurai!"

So, it was _that_.

"Tell me something I do not already know," Kanbei suppressed a laugh. "I already guessed that was the case the first time I saw you hold a sword."

"And you didn't mind?" Shichiroji now looked up at his commander in wonder.

"No," Kanbei said to him kindly. "You proved yourself by your diligence and faithfulness. Now get to your feet. Let's go get ourselves dinner. We can talk more about university then."

But Shichiroji did not rise to his feet just yet. He spoke once more with downcast eyes. "Actually, it's worse than not being born a samurai… my family are tanners. We are of the class of _eta_ – people of much filth."

Of all the commoners, it was easiest, though by no means easy, for peasants to become samurai by first serving their lord as foot soldiers. In fact, some famous daimyos of old sprung from peasant stock. But Shichiroji was an _eta_ – an outcast ranked three classes below peasants and one level under the allegedly dishonorable merchant class. The orderly waited for Kanbei to react to his revelation with revulsion.

Instead, he heard his commander's amused laugh. "Tanners, undertakers and butchers are regarded as people of 'much filth' because they engage in occupations that have contact with blood and death. But one can say the same thing of soldiers. Now shall we talk about university over dinner?""

* * *

**Inspirations and References:**

- My version of Shichi's past is inspired by the interview in which the chara designer mentioned Shichiroji was from a faraway place.

- about the possibility of an outcast like Shichiroji becoming a samurai, the wikipedia entry on burakumin (modern term for the descendants of the outcast class of medieval Japan) mentioned that in rare cases outcasts managed to cross the class line when they acquired wealth and could buy samurai status.

- About the possibility of a peasant becoming a daimyo, Hideyoshi was an example. He was born a peasant, started his military career as an ashigaru (foot soldier), became a samurai, rose to become a daimyo, and was eventually appointed regent of Japan. He could not become shogun (supreme commander of the armed forces) because of his non-samurai birth, so the emperor made him regent, an even higher position.

- the part about referring to one's orderly as 'old wife' came from the commentary on Seven Samurai.

- The practice of using a wife as an aide/lieutenant was from the history of Chinese high-ranking military families. General Qin Liangyu of the Ming Dynasty was at first her husband's second-in-command, and then promoted to his position after his death. Her career rose steadily from that point. Both her older and younger brothers were officers reporting to her.

- Universities probably have a place on the planet S7 was happening on, since they had very sophisticated technology. On Earth, universities had existed since ancient times in India. Medieval Africa and medieval Europe also had universities, though departments of studies differed somewhat from modern universities.


	2. People of All Classes

**Note:  
- **not all people in the merchant class are wealthy. Peddlers also belong to the merchant class.

- in the Retribution series, the Great War was between the states allied with the shogun and the states loyal to the emperor. The states under the shogunate are called provinces and those allied with the emperor are called prefectures. Kanbei is on the side of the shogunate. Michiyo is from of Kokuryu Prefecture, which is on the emperor's side.

* * *

Sai'an University's military studies department knew how to flow with the times. They had a flexible-time self-directed study program for soldiers on active duty who could not attend school year round. Instead of being tied to a fixed semester, students in that program would go to campus for guidance whenever they could and take their exams whenever they were ready.

Due in part to Kanbei's coaching, Shichiroji did not fare too badly on the entrance test and was accepted into the program.

--

Kanbei and Shichiroji found themselves standing in front of the metal detectors flanking the vermilion gate posts of Sai'an University's West Entrance. Campus Security policy held that students and visitors had to check all metal weapons at the gate. Thus, the two samurai parted with their weapons in exchange for a claim ticket. Lieutenant Colonel Shimada was reluctant to do so, but he knew there was no other way.

The young officer had never been on a civilian campus in all his 30 years. Sai'an University was a strange world where the last marks of the samurai's status were removed, where people of all classes from many states mingled in a nameless mass, devoid of their group identities, or so it seemed to Kanbei. He wondered which of the students walking around were from samurai families. Some he guessed were probably samurai from their carriage and demeanor, most of the rest were probably chonin of the merchant class. But guesses could be wrong.

--

At that moment, a gathering of students was taking place in Tenjou Hall on that very same campus. Most of the students sitting on the floor in Tenjou Hall had very dark skin and pale hair. These were the students from the northern states. It was the Northland Students' Association meeting.

The Association Treasurer, a young woman with pale blue hair, was speaking, "Association President, I object to this proposal. We should save the surplus budget for the emergency fund instead of spending it all on a New Year party."

"How much money do we need in the emergency fund?" a dark-skinned woman with golden hair answered curtly, "Do you not have enough?"

"Not enough to cover medical emergencies should one of our members fall sick," the other dark woman who spoke first answered.

"An individual's expenses are an individual's responsibility," the Association President replied.

"Not all of us are from wealthy families," the blue-haired Treasurer spoke again, "We are all strangers in a strange land. It is our responsibility to take care of one another."

"Your proposal will benefit only you," the golden-haired, topaz-eyed student responded coldly. "Since you're the only one here who does not have the means to pay her own expenses."

The Association Treasurer's jaw tightened. Then she opened her mouth once more and answered in a controlled voice, "Not everyone in this room is a high-ranking samurai or a noble. There are students from the artisan and merchant classes, not to mention lower-ranking samurai. They are not wealthy. I did not make this proposal with my own interests in mind."

The golden-haired woman did not even look at her. She spoke seemingly to herself in a lower but still audible tone, "Typical of a farmer to worry about everything. One would have thought that she would stop clinging to her peasant stinginess by now."

The rest of the students sitting on the floor glanced at each other nervously. But the blue-haired woman with silver eyes spoke as if she had not heard the jab. "Shall we take a vote? Open it up to the floor."

"Peasants should not be going to university," the dark woman with blond hair replied in a cold voice without even looking at the first speaker, "It makes them forget their place."

"With all due respect, Tokuko," the other ebony-skinned young woman finally raised her voice, "Your mother instituted the peasant scholarship. And don't forget, peasants are going to university to study agricultural science so that we can come up with new ways to yield more grain to pay more taxes to you samurai and fill your war chest! And what do we get in return? Not even the right to speak our mind?!!"

A young man stood up near the back of the room, "That's enough, Michiyo! You will show no such disrespect to Lady Toku!" Then he quickly strode over, grabbed the blue-haired young woman by the arm and dragged her out of the meeting room. The older student protested vehemently as the young man firmly escorted her down the hall. Once they were outside the building, the male student loosened his hold on the woman.

"Don't think you can push me around just because you are samurai, Rannosuke!" the dark woman spoke angrily as she pulled away from the young man, "This peasant can kick your warrior butt! My ancestors did serious damage on your ancestors with their bare hands and feet!"

"Get a grip on yourself, Michiyo! " the ebony-skinned youth exclaimed exasperatedly, "Can't you see I'm on your side? I did that to save you! What good can come of offending Tokuko? It is only a matter of time before she becomes daimyo of our state, and then you think your life will be easy?"

"So we should all bow and scrape before her because we fear her power and retribution?" the woman with light blue hair asked angrily, "She can't just do what she likes without anyone disagreeing with her! I will speak my mind and none of you have the right to stop me!"

"Don't just think of yourself!" Rannosuke remonstrated, "Think of the generations of peasants to come! If you make an enemy out of Lady Toku, what's going to become of the peasant scholarship you're now benefiting from? Our current daimyo is not going to live forever!"

At this, the woman fell silent. The young student of samurai origin was right. Lady Taka, the daimyo of Kokuryu Prefecture, instituted a scholarship for the most promising of the peasant youth. The idea was that they would go to university and study the subjects that would benefit their people. Michiyo had won the top scholarship and earned the privilege of going to an out-of-state university, a privilege that most samurai did not have. The peasant, despite her general dislike for samurai, respected Lady Taka. The military governor was a kind and magnanimous woman. Her daughter Tokuko however was not known for a forgiving nature. She might just revoke the peasant scholarship after she ascended her mother's office.

"I know you just spoke to me in anger," the dark samurai youth said to the woman, "But I would advise you not to bring up the peasant rebellion from two hundred years ago before the other samurai. The Northlander samurai students from the states under the shogun's control told me that their daimyos have instituted such strict supervision over the peasant populace that it is difficult for the farmers to continue to train in their traditional arts of self-defense. Do not give our future daimyo any ideas. She can take everything away from you."

Michiyo cursed under her breath.

"And there is one more thing I will say to you as a friend, and not as a samurai," Rannosuke said. "Do you realize how many books on counterinsurgency were written by Northland samurai after the peasant rebellion? "

Michiyo's eyes narrowed as she stared at her friend. The peasant did not even know such books existed. Rannosuke continued. "Lady Kae, then-daimyo of our state, wrote one. So did Lord Takakuni of Juushuu State and Sir Yoshinori, Clan Advisor of Shichiyama State. And there were lesser-ranking samurai officers who wrote no-less-important treatises on the tactics for countering peasant insurgents."

The younger student added, "Today samurai from all over the empire, not just from the Northlands, are studying these texts right here on this campus. It's part of our syllabus."

Now a blue vein was throbbing visibly in Michiyo's neck as Rannosuke's revelation sank into her mind . "After the rebellion, the samurai signed a peace treaty with the peasant rebels and invited peasant representatives to join the state government," she thought. "Then they turn around and write books on counterinsurgency. As they say, keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer."

The peasants had been clever, but the samurai were even cleverer. "Oh, how I hate the warrior caste!" Michiyo swore silently.

"So, my point is, don't challenge Tokuko," The pale-haired young man said to the older student. "And keep everything I said between you and me."

--

The Northlander students looked up when Michiyo re-entered the room with Rannosuke beside her. "I wish to thank all the people who voted me into the office of Association Treasurer," the dark woman said calmly as she turned her eyes towards the section of the room where the students of merchant and artisan origin were seated. "But I regret that I will be able to serve you no longer. I hereby resign the office of treasurer and wish you the best in finding a worthier replacement."

With those words, the silver-eyed peasant left Tenjou Hall. She never attended another Northland Students' Association meeting again.

--

Michiyo walked briskly back to her dorm room, trembling with rage. To think that the arrogance and reach of the samurai would extend everywhere! She did better on the university entrance exam than all the children of samurai families. But that Tokuko had to insult her in front of everyone. It was not the first time her daimyo's haughty daughter had done so. That samurai woman did not seem willing to pass a week without reminding her of her place. Michiyo considered moving to another state when Lady Taka passes and Tokuko becomes the new daimyo.

And Rannosuke's revelation felt like a hard blow in the stomach. A wake up call to reality. The pale-haired woman realized more keenly than ever something she already knew. At the end of the day, peasants and samurai could never be friends. Lady Taka and Rannosuke were exceptions, however. Her daimyo was one of those rare, fair-minded high-ranking samurai who valued the work of peasants as much as, if not more than she respected the work of warriors. As for Rannosuke, he was low-ranking enough to have a degree of camaraderie with peasants. Michiyo saw the younger student as a friend, almost like a little brother, and not as a samurai. But for the rest of the military caste, Michiyo had no warm feelings.

"The warrior class would stop at nothing to keep the farmers subjugated," Michiyo thought. "To the military clan, we farmers are nothing but food-production tools to be managed and controlled."

The peasant scholar threw open the door to her room with unusual force. Then she gathered up her book bag. Michiyo needed a change of scene to take her mind off the day's events. And nothing was a better distraction than a session of good, hard studying. Except for maybe some wine.

With that thought, the woman headed towards the campus sake house with her textbooks in tow.

* * *

**Inspirations and References:**

- The samurai of Michiyo's state are matrilineal. The hereditary position of daimyo (military governor) is passed from mother to daughter. A real world matrilineal warrior caste is the Nairs of Kerala State, India. Women and men both practice martial arts, though most active duty warriors were apparently male. According to my friend, whose mother is a Nair, only the warrior caste in that state is matrilineal. Other castes in Kerala are patrilineal, as are warrior castes in other states.

Another Northland state mentioned here and in companion fic Mandate of Heaven is Juushuu. The Juushuu'ans are also matrilineal but they practice the "sister's son" method of inheritance. The daimyo is a man, but his position passes to his sister's son, not his own son. (Real world precedent: The Ashanti. The kingship passes to the king's sister's son, and the Queen Mother holds great power.)

- The history of the Northland peasant rebellion was inspired by _Secrets of the Samurai_ (Ratti/Westbrook):

_"In 1428 and 1485, for example, village elders in the provinces of Omi and Yamashiro led a series of peasants' revolts against the Ashikaga representatives appointed by the government, who could not protect the farmers from the scourge of feudal armies laying waste the countryside. The farmers, in turn, foiled every attempt to overcome their resistance subsequently made by the government and the neighboring military clans, for more than 7 years. Another famous farmers' revolt occurred in the province of Echizen in the fourteenth century, when peasants rose up against the armies of Lord Asakura, which had been sent to force payment of taxes to the great metropolitan center of Kyoto. The farmers, led by their local priests and armed with crude weapons adapted from agricultural tools, proved more than a match for the professional swordsmen of the buke."_

- the idea of unarmed peasants as self-defense experts with the capacity to kill armed samurai is inspired by the following description of the samurai campaigns in the Ryukyu Islands, in _Secrets of the Samurai_ (Ratti/Westbrook):

_"It was in these islands …– that he (the samurai) learned how inadequate his armor and his array of traditional weapons could prove to be, when pitted against the bare hands and feet of a peasant sufficiently desperate and properly trained in the ancient Chinese techniques of striking."_

- the sharing of counterinsurgency tactics between samurai of different states is inspired by the documentary When the Mountains Tremble. The commentary mentioned both US and Israel provided advisors to the Guatemalan military who were fighting the peasant insurgency. A US advisor featured in the documentary was a Vietnam vet who taught techniques learnt from Vietnam. The Guatamalan Army's scorched earth policy resulted in the wholesale slaughter of the indigenous peasants. 120,000 killed.


	3. The Tiger and the Dog

**Note:**

On the topic of samurai functioning as police, the nonfiction book _Secrets of the Samurai _mentions that samurai clans had military police. These special samurai had authority not just over commoners but also over other samurai. The Tokugawa shogunate took the military police organization to a whole different level, resulting in a police state.

* * *

While Shichiroji was doing his progress checks with his program instructors and taking the tests for his classes, Kanbei decided to while away his time in the campus' sake house. He could have left the campus and gone to one of the geisha houses in downtown Sai'an, but Shimada Kanbei had little interest in the pleasures of the floating world. He did not mind having a drink, however. It was one of the few vices he indulged, if that could be called a vice at all.

It was after he had ordered a bottle of white rice wine that he noticed the strange sight of a young woman sitting alone at another table 12 feet away, poring over her textbook while drinking rather vehemently. The woman was clearly older than Shichiroji, but probably younger than Kanbei. In fact, she appeared to be about Chihiro's age at the time Kanbei's betrothed wife passed away. "Perhaps she is a graduate student," the young officer thought.

"Does alcohol help one's concentration?" Kanbei wondered as he stared at the odd spectacle of the hard-drinking student. But that was not the only reason the soldier was staring at the strange woman. From where Shimada Kanbei sat, he could see her profile, which strongly resembled Chihiro's. In fact, the female student could almost pass for Chihiro from what he could see of her. Like Kanbei's former fiancée, this young woman had very dark skin and pale blue hair. "Is she a Northlander?" Kanbei wondered. The combination of dark skin and pale hair was more common among the inhabitants of the North Sector, though people of such coloration were not limited to the northern states. Chihiro's family were not Northlanders. They had been living in the West Sector for generations. What made Kanbei ask if this female student was a Northlander was not her coloration. It was the five rings in her earlobe – the fisherfolk and farmers of the Northlands had the custom of piercing their ears in multiple spots, some wearing up to 9 earrings on a single ear. Lieutenant Colonel Shimada had encountered Northlander peasants while the Allied Air Force was fighting on the northern front.

Kanbei must have stared at the stranger for a little too long, for at that moment the student turned towards the dark handsome man with an annoyed look on her face. It was then Kanbei realized that the front view of the woman's face did not look like Chihiro's. And this stranger had silver eyes, not Chihiro's pale blue.

Kanbei quickly averted his gaze and turned his attention back to his drink. But it was too late.

"Just what are you looking at?!!" The woman barked at the samurai officer who commanded mighty mecha and brave men.

"So I have aroused the ire of a mean drunk," Kanbei thought. By now any imagined resemblance this young woman bore to Chihiro had evaporated from Kanbei's mind. It was only too apparent to the dark-haired samurai that this stranger did not have the pleasant disposition and graceful demeanor of the late Miss Hasegawa.

"I sincerely apologize for my rudeness," the dark man addressed the irate student in an amiable tone, "I did not intend any disrespect. You reminded me of someone I used to know, that's all."

The student's down-turned lips drooped even further as she glared at him.

"She is probably thinking this is the oldest pickup line in the world," Kanbei thought, "but I really did not mean it that way!"

The woman shifted her position slightly, turning in her seat to face him with a somewhat aggressive posture that the seasoned soldier knew by experience could launch into a combat stance in an instant.

"Just how many bar brawls has she been in?" the samurai wondered.

But the handsome officer decided he should keep his silence instead of trying to explain matters to this bellicose stranger. Anything he could say now would probably worsen the situation. As those angry gray eyes continued to bore into him, Kanbei wondered if this was going to turn into a sake house brawl. The well-trained samurai would have no difficulty winning a bar fight against the average college student, but he would rather not have to do so. Fortunately, the angry scholar turned her attention back to her book after giving Kanbei one last disgusted glare.

The squadron commander concentrated on his wine cup until Shichiroji came by the sake house to collect him.

"A tiger out of the forest can be bullied by a dog, or so the saying goes," the Lieutenant Colonel gave a wry smile to himself as he cast one parting glance at the dark-skinned student hunched over her book and pondered how little power he had outside the world of warriors.

--

"Sai'an University is an odd place," Shichiroji said to his friend while they were picking up their weapons from the campus security office.

"Why do you say so?" Kanbei asked.

"I've been told that there is an unspoken rule here: casual acquaintances are not allowed to ask each other which state they come from to avoid an awkward situation in case their states are on different sides of the war."

"That makes sense," Kanbei said as the two samurai in civilian clothes walked down the wide concrete path leading away from the campus.

"There's another weird rule they have here too," Shichiroji continued, "It is not proper etiquette to ask about someone's class origins until one reaches a high level of familiarity with him/her. But the rule is rather pointless because someone's class background is usually quite apparent from their department of study. For example, everyone in the military science program is a samurai. Not all are from high-ranking families, but the open secret is that everyone there, instructors and students, are samurai. And close to everyone in the Business Administration and Economics departments are from the merchant class. And the people in the School of Applied Arts are mostly from the artisan class. And it goes without saying who attends the School of Agricultural Sciences."

"Peasants in university?" Kanbei had never before considered the idea. In his 30 years, he had taken very little time to understand the lives of people outside the warrior caste.

--

It would probably be three more months before the squadron would be rotated back to the front. Shichiroji hoped to finish the first quarter's syllabus before going back into battle. The young samurai went to campus about twice a week to hand in his homework and meet with his instructors. This day, Kanbei had some free time after completing his duties, so he accompanied his orderly to Sai'an City.

The two unarmed samurai parted ways outside the academic building of the military studies department. Remembering the sake house incident, Kanbei decided to wait for Shichiroji at the campus teahouse instead. But as luck would have it, he saw that fierce silver-eyed woman the moment he stepped into the teahouse. The ebony-skinned scholar was now dressed in the manner of a waitress. At that moment, she was facing away from the entrance, taking an order from a party of four students. Kanbei paused at the doorway momentarily, but never one to back down in the face of an 'enemy', the samurai officer nonchalantly strolled in and took a seat at an empty table that was not too far off and not too close. He picked up a newspaper and started browsing it.

"Excuse me, sir?" A voice spoke next to him. "Can I take your order please?" Kanbei turned and looked into the waitress' gray eyes. She started slightly when she recognized the dark man. For a moment, they stared at each other.

"Brother, I'm sorry about last time," the blue-haired waitress finally said, "I was in a foul mood when we crossed paths at the sake house. And I was rather drunk at that time, as you probably guessed. Though I don't think inebriation is a worthy excuse for my poor showing, I want you to know my conduct had nothing to do with you, and I hope you will accept my apologies."

"No apology needed," Kanbei said graciously, "I was the one who was rude. But I spoke the truth. You reminded me of someone I knew before."

"Someone who has passed?" the woman could not help asking curiously, noting that the man spoke in the past tense.

"Yes," Kanbei replied in a neutral voice, "She died more than three years ago."

"I'm sorry," the female student responded as she noted the vague pain that clouded those seemingly calm dark eyes, "Forgive me for asking."

"I hope I did not offend by bringing up the dead," the samurai in civilian clothes replied.

"No offense is taken," the student waitress answered, "I hope I did not intrude with my inquisitiveness."

"No offense is taken," Kanbei spoke in turn.

"Forgive me," the woman said, "I should not be wasting your time with idle talk. What kind of tea would you like?"

"No, you're not wasting my time at all," the dark-eyed man told her. "But I would like some red tea."

--

Kanbei had finished his pot of red tea and was reading a newspaper article about a samurai police crackdown on an anti-war protest in Sayama Prefecture. 231 protesters from the artisan, merchant and outcast classes were arrested for civil disobedience and imprisoned. Some claimed to have been severely beaten. Among them were the famed pottery master Sugiyama Souichiro and outcast rights activist Mikoto of the Yoshicho District.

"We never read about such things in the military newspaper. I wonder how true such news is." Kanbei was musing when he heard a tap on the glass window next to him. It was Shichiroji standing outside the teahouse. "I'm done," the young blond mouthed to his friend.

"Will be with you in a moment," Kanbei said soundlessly, trusting Shichiroji to lip read through the glass. Then he laid down the newspaper and called out to the waitress.

The woman with light blue hair promptly made her way over to his table. When Kanbei asked for the bill, she said, "Don't concern yourself with the bill, brother. The tea is on me." The waitress smiled at him. "Take it as an apology for my bad behavior the other day."

"You really don't have to," Kanbei protested mildly. "I should pay."

"No, I insist," the student waitress said firmly.

"In that case, I thank you," the samurai officer responded graciously. "I hope you will allow me to return the favor sometime."

Then the tall man bowed slightly to her before turning to leave the teahouse to join Shichiroji. Once outside, the dark warrior could not help glancing back through the glass window into the campus teahouse. The young woman was now clearing his table. She did not look up from her work.

* * *

**Author's Comment:**

"A tiger out of the forest can be bullied by a dog" is adapted from a Chinese saying. "A tiger down in the plains is bullied by a dog"


End file.
